She gasped as soon as she saw the lance and blood dripping everywhere. She noticed how Mirac didn't even grasp the situation as he stood there blankly, coughing blood. She looked around, forcing her composure as she pulled him down. Mirac laughed. Ai stared at him as if he were a madman.

"Why does this feel so real?" Mirac asked, coughing up more blood. Eyebags and a pale expression adorned his face as blood kept dripping.

"Mirac Ciel. You're done for. Say bye to your little girlfriend too," a voice from atop a tree declared. They couldn't see his face clearly, only his tan skin.

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"Mirac! It's so boring… can't you do my homework for me? I promise I will give you the other part of my ice cream in turn," a familiar voice interrupted.

Mirac widened his eyes. "Huh?" He found himself in a strange room with red walls, a fireplace, and a table with numerous books. Where was he? "Do you need to take a dump? Just go. You look like you're about to explode, you goat," he said, finishing writing the number in his book. He smirked, but her reaction was strange. Yosephine scoffed while hitting him on the shoulder, and Mirac let out a small whimper. He could see the knuckles on her hands, well aware that she trained with those hands.

"Calm down! Tell me what's going on," Yosephine insisted, moving closer to Mirac to whisper in his ear. "You know I love you, right? Even though you're stupid sometimes. I promised Mom not to tell you since she's worried," she added, looking at him with guilt. "I think you might have a stalker. Or something similar... at least that's how I understood the situation." Mirac continued to look uninterested in his book. "Take this seriously!"

Mirac finally glanced at her with dead eyes. He looked pale and extremely nervous, turning his attention to the scars on his arms and wrists, which didn't come from self-harm. He huffed and released a deep breath in frustration.

"Who am I?" Mirac questioned, his gaze shifting to the girl, who appeared innocent and around the same age as him. She had a habit of teasing him, stealing his ice cream, taking his food from the fridge, and generally being a bother at school. Mirac deduced from a photo in the corner that he attended a prestigious international school in Asia, but the frame was broken. Had something happened to his family?

"Anyways, the police said to stay indoors for a while... Mom and Dad will surely be back and know what to do. Trust your older sister, and don't go outside. I'll bring food home now and then. Do my homework in return," Yosephine instructed, offering some semblance of normalcy amid the uncertainty.

Yosephine whimpered in shock, a glass shard almost hitting her as Mirac shielded her. He huffed, looking down and noticing how his entire hoodie was covered in blood. Yosephine breathed heavily, covering her face. Mirac widened his eyes, hugging her even tighter. Someone was outside the window.

"Who are you? Why do you keep following me!? Leave me alone, you bastard!" he shouted, his voice breaking. He looked down at Yosephine, who smiled at him with a pale expression.

"Run!" she shouted, pushing him away. She glanced outside, seeing the shadowy figure too. Her eyes widened as she covered the other.

Once again, Mirac woke up, finding himself lying on dirt. A familiar jacket covered him, and his chest was draped in some clothes. Eyebags and a disheveled complexion spoke of the toll his experiences had taken on him. With a huff, he didn't even attempt to get up, instead turning his head to the side. A girl sat beside him, a look of fear etched on her face. She hugged her knees, tears streaming down her face. Though he could hear her whimpering and see the blood on her, there was an absence of actual blood. She sobbed like a child, widening her eyes as she realized Mirac was glancing at her. Swiftly, she put on a cold expression, wiping away her tears and hiding her face.

This narrative has been purloined without the author's approval. Report any appearances on Amazon.

Mirac's voice cracked as he spoke, and she huffed, finally turning to face him. "You slept for a day. More than I hoped," she said. "I took your book... I don't know where we are. But it said 'safe place.' It's just a cave like any other. I can hear them outside sometimes... it's scary. You don't know what they did to my friends," she added, her voice now tinged with a coldness that mirrored the harsh reality of their situation. Mirac moaned, attempting to move every fiber in his body, realizing how he had those scars even before arriving here. The difference was a larger one in his chest area now.

"We need to move," Mirac declared, awaiting Ai's response. The girl glanced at him, nodding, but Mirac sensed her uncertainty as she bit her lip and followed along.

"I don't think it's a good idea. You were gone for almost two days. Your wounds are still fresh. There are people who have immense power," she expressed her concerns. Turning to their belongings, all of which she carried on her own, she examined them. Even her tanky vest showed signs of wear, with little scars and slight damage. Pulling out the book, she looked at it thoughtfully.

She carefully read about the places marked in the book, areas where Mirac had been before, but there were also huge question marks on different spots—places he had never set foot.

"Let's just hide," she sighed, already committing every detail of the map to memory, including the notes Mirac wrote for himself. Privacy between them became a luxury they couldn't afford. Ai even had to change all of Mirac's clothes, but neither of them felt discomfort in the situation.

Except for Mirac, haunted by memories of his sister. He couldn't protect her, and now Ai was the one shielding him. Mirac remained clueless about why Ai would go to such lengths for him.

He couldn't protect anyone. Who was this person surviving in the forest all along? The one who wrote notes, ventured into dangerous places, and returned alive. It didn't sound like him. Mirac always got injured, yet he didn't die. The wounds also seemed to slowly close, accompanied by a strange heat in his body, as if he were surrounded by fire. A red aura enveloped him, and a mysterious voice spoke to him.

"Run! It's okay! I can survive," echoed his sister's voice. He could sense the memories coursing through his body.

Yet, intertwined with these memories was a brutal scene where he held her lifeless body in his arms, crying on the street, pleading for anyone to help him. A shadowy figure loomed above, smirking. The figure, the same age as him, had white hair and an eerie presence. Strangely, they didn't kill Mirac; instead, they imparted something to him—a shard of his memories.

"Give it to me!" he shouted, even in his injured state, managing to snatch the book away as Ai finally relented. Mirac flipped through every page, revealing drawings and unfamiliar words. It looked like a card with a key on it. Suddenly, the memories dulled, and all he could recall was the card—the key that led him into this perilous game.

"Why am I doing this? You're simply a nuisance. But also so damn interesting... I came for your sister but was surprised by something else. Just like your sister... You're half-blood too? That's interesting," Mirac repeated the word he had heard during that encounter. The mysterious figure had mentioned it.

Once again, the figure threw a spear at him like a maniac. It was clear; they wanted his head. They had invited Mirac into this game but now hunted him relentlessly. His sister was part of this game too.

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A girl hidden in a hoodie sat quietly, a distance away. She turned her attention to the two boys with tired eyes, offering a smile as she walked over to them.

"Man... since we're in a competition too, I can't wait to see who kills each other first," Mirac remarked, though a slight tremor betrayed the bravado in his voice. The mysterious guy's eyes darkened, even though his expression seemed amused. He struck the wall next to Mirac, almost cornering him.

“Let´s see how far you´ll come. I´m already too high for you. I was first just interested in your sister but, there is a fire inside you that bothers my element a bit. The whole time I was hunting her down, you were in the way. God, you are stuck on each other 24/7… That´s why I tried to kill you,”